


Who I Am

by NightFlier



Category: Batman - Fandom, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Asexual Jason Todd, Blockbuster Gang appearance, Demiromantic Jason Todd, Dick Grayson is Roma, Gen, Jason Todd is Cuban, Jason being adorably dense, Jason is me, M/M, Nightwing is Biwing :), Some cute couple fluff, The Mature Rating is only 2 chapters I'll give you a heads up, Too many feels, asexual awakening
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27229276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightFlier/pseuds/NightFlier
Summary: Jason Todd always felt a bit different from his peers. He never has really dated someone before or done a one night stand (regardless of the rumors). He really needs to get to know the person first before wanting to get closer.It turns out that Dick is that person for Jason. But is Jason the right person for Dick? He wants to be, more than anything, but he's not sure that he's capable of giving Dick everything that he wants.Dating Dick, Jason realizes there's a lot about himself left to discover. Once he's ready to accept it.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain/Harper Row, Elena Cruz & Jason Todd, Jason Todd/Dick Grayson, OCs Rasheed/Kumail, Roy Harper/Koriand'r, Tim Drake/Connor Kent/Cassie Sandsmark
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43





	1. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY ACE WEEK!!! :)
> 
> So while brainstorming this fic, I started listening to “Who I am” by the Score. In my mind, it’s the unofficial theme song of Jason Peter Todd.
> 
> está volao = that’s amazing  
> ¿De verdad? = right?  
> gracias a Dios = Thank God

Jason didn’t have many happy memories, but around the top of the list would be when Dick Grayson confessed his feelings to him. 

  
  


That day, the golden boy was acting a bit strange. Well, stranger than usual anyway. He hovered around the post-crime scene while Red Hood finished his inspection. The lack of noise was the first indicator that something was off. Normally, Nightwing would be prattling about whatever random topic caught his attention at the moment.

Red Hood himself preferred working in silence. However, he never minded Dick’s familiar voice.

It was only after Red Hood finished scanning the area and sent his report to Oracle that Nightwing spoke up. 

“So, uhm, any plans for tonight?” The black and blue bird sidled up to his side.

  
  
“Nothing besides a case of beer and some leftover arroz con pollo,” Jason responded without thinking.

“Oh… That’s perfect!” Nightwing declared, wearing a dopey grin on his too-perfect face.

  
  
Jason gave him a funny look, rendered useless by his helmet. Nightwing still sensed his confusion.

“I mean….” Nightwing rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. If Jason didn’t know better, he’d peg Dick as nervous. But his predecessor lived in constant movement. “We could have dinner together.”

  
“Uhm, not interested in driving to Gotham tonight.” In other words, Jason was not emotionally prepped to interact with the rest of the family. There was a reason why he decided to move shop to Blüdhaven. And it wasn’t just because Dick suggested it. Shooting off his grappling hook to the nearest roof, Red Hood flew away from the conversation. But the relentlessly stubborn Nightwing took pursuit.

Inwardly groaning, Jason took off his helmet and faced the older man. He fully intended to stand his ground. Yet Jason knew that one shot of the trademark Nightwing charm would have him walking through the manor door. 

Unperturbed at Jason’s pathetic escape attempt, Nightwing pretty much skipped over to him.

“Actually, I thought it could be just the two of us. You like Batburger, right?” Nightwing didn’t wait for a confirmation. “We could pick it up to-go and have a picnic. I know a spot with a great view of Blüdhaven!”

“Hell yeah!” Hanging out with Dick sounded way more appealing than fending off the Demon Brat’s attacks or Bruce’s disappointed stares, “I could always go for burgers.”

“Ha, awesome sauce! So it’s a _date_!” Nightwing laughed a bit louder and longer than normal. 

  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  


Dick’s word choice niggled at the back of Jason’s mind, but he ignored it. It’d just be another mandatory Nightwing bonding session. That didn’t stop him from worrying about his outfit back at his safe house. 

Red hoodie or leather jacket?....

Shit. He really needed to expand on his wardrobe. He ended up with the leather jacket. Dick often underdressed for the weather, so lending him the jacket would stop his unjustified whining. 

  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  


The second indicator that something was off with Nightwing occurred at the fast-food joint….. When Jason arrived at Batburger, the famously-tardy Dick was already there. His arms were loaded with food.

“Hey, Jayjay,” Dick greeted him.

“What’s this?” Jason skipped straight to the questioning.

  
  
“You prefer their jokerized-seasoning fries and batburger deluxe,” Dick sheepishly recounted, “it even comes with a toy.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Dick,” Jason grunted, perpetually uncomfortable with shows of affection, “let me pay you back for mine.”

  
  
“Nope, it’s the least I could do after you agreed to go out with me,” Dick handed him his bag. Jason was momentarily distracted by the alluring smell of grease and meat. 

“If you insist,” he stuffed a handful of fries in his mouth, “ohh, _está volao_ _.”_ Why did Jason ever start his healthy eating regime? He could subsist solely on these fries. With his mouth full, Jason practically moaned from the salty goodness. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Dick licking his lips. Jason held the bag a bit tighter. Dick insisted on paying. That didn’t mean that Jason would be sharing his fries. “So where’s this ‘special spot’ you mentioned earlier?”

Blinking out of his daze, Dick grinned mischievously, “you’ll see.”

  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you serious, Dickiebird?” Jason couldn’t believe the former Boy Wonder’s ego, “we’re actually going to eat on the Nightwing tourism billboard?”

“It does promise the best sites,” Dick had no shame.

“Fucking ridiculous,” Jason tried to be annoyed and failed miserably. The billboard wasn’t half-bad from an artistic viewpoint. Every once in a while, Jason would find his eyes drawn to it during rooftop stakeouts. 

“Not as much as you,” Dick picked up a napkin to wipe off the crumbs around Jason’s mouth, “is this why you wear a full head-covering mask? Because you never learned table manners?”

  
  
“Says the guy who drinks straight out of the milk carton,” Jason retaliated.

“Only when it’s near empty!” Dick protested. Dropping the napkin, Dick still didn’t move away from Jason. 

“Uhm,” Jason prayed that the pounding coming from his chest wasn’t audible. Fast food couldn’t cause heartburn this quickly. ¿ _De verdad_? 

At this proximity, he could make out every single one of Dick’s dark lashes. They fluttered over the darkest, most beautiful blue eyes in existence. Jason swallowed. He could really use one of Nightwing’s distracting quips right then, but Dick’s lips only opened to exhale. His soft breath brushed over Jason’s face.

“Geez, I can see your breath!” Jason jumped back, “take my jacket before you catch a damn cold.”

“Thanks, Jayjay,” Dick flinched at his sudden movement yet still flashed a smile, “always so considerate.”

“I just don’t wanna have to play nursemaid to you,” Jason denied the compliment.

“Really?” Dick teased the younger vigilante and pretended to check out Jason’s now-revealed muscular biceps, “I bet you could take care of all my needs.” 

“And have to suffer through all your complaining? I swear you hate the cold more than crime,” Jason rolled his eyes.

  
  
“You know, my hand is chilly too,” Dick simpered and nudged his hand near Jason’s. 

“Little brat,” Jason, only this compliant with Nightwing, wrapped his much larger hand over Dick’s. It wasn’t even that cold. 

  
“I’m older than you!” Taking Jason’s gesture to heart, Dick scooted nearer and nearer to him until their sides were pressed together.

  
  
“Only in years. Not in maturity,” Jason wondered how Dick kept his hands so soft. The pretty boy probably reserved a bathroom shelf for his lotions and creams.

  
  
“I’m not the one who got the toy!” Affronted, Dick’s mouth dropped open. He took his veteran Boy Wonder status very seriously.

  
“You ordered it for me!” Jason couldn’t resist the laugh bubbling up his throat.

  
“Because I knew you’d want it,” Dick cocked a suggestive eyebrow at him, “why don’t you find out what you got?”

So focused on food, Jason didn’t even bother looking earlier. With his free hand, he dug into his bag and pulled out a mini replica of the man on the billboard

“Ooh, you got a me!” Dick squealed happily. 

“Not bad. Better than a Red Robin anyway,” Jason smiled fondly at Dick’s excitement. He brought the toy closer to his face. “Batburger needs to update its merchandise. It’s your old costume.”

“Huh, I haven’t worn those finger stripes in a while,” Dick commented.

“What a pity,” Jason muttered under his breath. It was leagues ahead of Nightwing’s other costumes in fashion sense. The Discowing suit in particular was nightmare fodder. Dick was close enough to hear him.

“I could break it out of storage if you really wanted,” he offered, “it’s not up to crime-fighting standards… but I bet we could find another use for it.”

“Why would you do that?” Jason asked, honestly confused. 

“I mean…” Dick bit his lip self-consciously, “that’s what people do when they like each other, isn’t it?”

  
  
“You like me!?” Jason spluttered in shock. If he’d been eating then, he would’ve choked, died, and gone to dimwit heaven. 

“Obviously! Why else would I ask you on a date?”

“Umm—” Jason flashbacked to all of Dick’s flirtatious hints from the day (from the past week? month?), “I’m an idiot.”

“And that’s okay,” Dick patted his head comfortingly, “I like idiots.” 

“Ha, that’s great,” _gracias a Dios,_ Jason’s dark complexion hid his blush. 

“It is? Seriously?” Dick’s confidence finally ebbed away to reveal an anxious hitch in his voice. 

“So great,” Jason re-confirmed. Gathering up all his courage, he rested his forehead against Dick’s. He wanted a better look at those beautiful eyes.

Reaching up, Dick gingerly placed his palms on Jason’s cheeks, “are my hands still cold?”

Dick’s hushed whisper tickled Jason’s nose, but he knew how to put a stop to that.

“Not at all,” Jason bridged the last inch between them to seal his lips against Dick’s. 

There were no fireworks. No butterflies or whatever in his stomach. But Jason’s body thrummed with the knowledge that it was Dick Grayson’s lips on his own. 

Before long, a tongue began to probe his closed mouth. Jason let it in. 

To be honest, he didn’t have much experience with kissing. The last was with Artemis… but that was in the midst of an explosive battle. It hardly lasted a moment.

There was much more time now to explore. Dick’s tongue swept inside like a searchlight. Unsure of how to respond, Jason ran his own tongue over Dick’s. A small noise came from Dick. He liked that. Emboldened, Jason did it again. Dick’s tongue jumped and twisted around his in response. Even his freaking tongue was an acrobat!

They made out for what seemed like ages. Finally, the two men broke apart to catch their breaths. Sprawled over the billboard platform, Jason stretched a bit to clasp Dick’s hand. 

  
Couldn’t have his… _His_ _person’s_ hand getting cold.

Stupefied from this turn of events, Jason felt like he was floating above the city skyscrapers. This was not at all what he expected from that night.

“You taste like mustard,” he panted, any social filters long gone.

“You taste like ketchup,” Dick panted in return. 

“Was it good?” Jason turned his head and attempted to discern Dick’s expression in the dark.

“I mean, it’s not my favorite condiment…”

  
“I meant the kiss, you asshole,” Jason squeezed Dick’s hand in annoyance, but Dick just squeezed back tighter.

“I really did,” Dick hummed, “and you?” 

“How could I not?” Jason looked back up at the sky. Making it through the Blüdhaven light pollution, a couple of satellites winked and planes glinted against the clouds. If he squinted, they could almost pass for stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obvs just being ace/aro doesn’t make you so dense to flirting. I mean, yeah, i used to be but now my allo-rader is much more refined XD
> 
> Also to my fellow aces/aros, you think all the excess energy not put into romance/sex goes into our appetites? ‘Cause in the Jughead comics, Jughead (who came out ace/aro long before Riverdale straight-washed him) loves to eat and I can relate hard lol.


	2. The Butt-Kicking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing better than hitting the town with your boyfriend. Or hitting the criminals, yeah, that's also a blast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Querido = Dear

The new boyfriend status made fighting besides Nightwing both better and worse. 

On the plus side, they were an unstoppable team! Even when apart, Nightwing came to his Red Hood's aid. The black and blue bird would send him kisses across the battlefield. Each one energized Red Hood, so he could punch the bad guys even harder. 

On the downside, the acrobat constantly induced near-heart attacks in Jason’s protective side.

“Gravity exists, you know!” Red Hood hollered after Nightwing who just yeeted himself off a seven-story building without a second thought. 

“Fuck gravity!” Nightwing laughed hysterically and swung himself down to the warehouse. 

Muttering inside his helmet, Jason first located his grapple and then jumped after him. 

On that night, the (much cooler and hotter) Dynamic Duo were cleaning up the last of Blockbuster Gang.

Roland Desmond, the biggest threat to Blüdhaven—besides the rising homeless population and corruption— was finally behind bars. Red Hood recommended sending him somewhere more _permanent_ , but Nightwing unsurprisingly wasn’t into that idea. It didn’t matter anyway. The crime lord was dying slowly and painfully from heart failure. 

But his hired goons didn’t seem to have gotten the memo about that. Or maybe they got paid extra for being jackasses, who knew? Jason would ask, but the one in front of him just lost his front teeth. It was the self-proclaimed “Nite-Wing.” As if the loser had any claim to the name.

Lowering his arm, Jason blocked a wild jab while simultaneously kneeing his opponent in the groin. The man went down hard. 

“They just don’t train henchmen like they used to,” Jason shook his head in mock disappointment. He didn’t get to revel in his victory for long.

  
  


“A hand, Red?” Nightwing called out from behind Brutale: an assassin with an absurd amount of knife holsters. At the moment, Nightwing was engaged in a life-or-death dance: already bleeding through the costume rips across his torso. 

“I got something better,” Red Hood took a running start at a cargo box and propelled off of it into a spinning flip. For a second, the heavily-armored man felt everything strip away and leave behind a weightless sensation. This was why Nightwing loved falling.

For that one instant, it was like flying. 

As this reflection sped through his head, Jason’s gunhand aimed and shot to immobilize Brutale (with a rubber bullet). As the assassin hit the ground, his knife holsters jangled loudly like Christmas bells.

“Dramatic much?” Nightwing latched cuffs around the KO'ed Brutale’s wrists before stripping him of his seemingly-limitless weapon supply.

  
  
“As if you could judge,” Red Hood snorted and sauntered towards his boyfriend. 

Finished with Brutale, Nightwing stood up and scanned the area. “Are we missing anyone?”

  
  
“Not anymore, _querido_ ,” a black-and-orange clad woman jumped from the warehouse rafters. She landed right in front of Nightwing and lunged for him. Before the original Boy Wonder could even raise his Eskrima sticks, Red Hood tackled her from the side. 

Reacting quickly, the new combatant stabbed him with the knife strapped to her hand (what a Wolverine-wannabe). Red Hood’s chest armor took most of the hit, but it still pierced his skin. She pulled back to strike again, the knife glistening with Jason’s blood. 

Kicking hard, Red Hood managed to knock her hand away and stumbled to his feet. 

“Just try it, punk!” She settled into a fighting stance. “You’re gonna get stung.”

  
  
“That has to be the stupidest battle cry I’ve ever heard,” Red Hood charged but didn’t get far.

“Aaargh!” the woman shuddered violently from the electricity pulsing through her body. Nightwing had tagged her from behind with an Eskrima stick. 

Finally, the entire Blockbuster Gang was down for the count. 

As Red Hood passed her still-twitching form, he sent a swift kick to her side.

“Was that really necessary?” Nightwing scolded him half-heartedly.

“She gave me bad vibes,” Jason shrugged without regret. Carefully, his fingers skipped over Nightwing’s wounds. “Are you okay?”

  
  
“I am now,” Dick tilted his head in a way that alerted Jason of an incoming kiss. 

He accepted it stoically, his mind more focused on checking his boyfriend’s wounds.

Without any reciprocation, Nightwing soon pulled away, “so… who’s the newbie?” His eyes fell on the latest victim of his Eskrima’s electric charge. 

  
“Probably the new Tarantula,” Jason deduced, “given the giant spider symbol on her chest.”

“You never know!” Dick objected, “she could go by _Spiderwoman_.”

  
  
“Copyright issues,” Jason muttered.

“What’s that?” Dick questioned.

“Hrm, nothing,” Jason looked back at the unconscious Tarantula, “I don’t like the way she was eyeing you.”

  
  
“Oh? You afraid I’d go renegade and leave you for her?” Dick joked.

“I’d track you down,” Jason swore.

“And then what would you do to me?” A sly smile slid across Nightwing’s face.

A fun truth about new relationships was that a person truly did find out new things about themselves. Jason himself had found out that he was embarrassingly bad at dirty talk.

Whatever. If ever at a loss for words, Jason could always count on his girl Jane Austen.

“I’d tell you how ardently I love and admire you,” he quoted almost verbatim.

  
“Very romantic,” Nightwing held out his arms to his bookworm boyfriend, “now sweep me off my feet, my sweet prince.” 

“I’m not carrying you all the way to your apartment!” After dating for a while, Jason had built up a tolerance to Dick’s charm. He wouldn’t be pushed around like some lovesick puppy anymore. 

It also helped that Nightwing’s mask depowered those insanely blue eyes.


	3. The Kissing Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hay más pacotilla en el piso que alimentos en la cocina. = There's more trash on the floor than food in the kitchen.

A man of his word, Jason didn’t carry Dick all the way to the apartment. But once they reached the door, he did carry his boyfriend (bridal-style) to the couch.

  
  
The labour of love would’ve been much easier without the various clutter obstacles. _Hay más_ _pacotilla en el piso que alimentos en la cocina._

“Your parents never teach you how to clean up?” Jason stepped on what could’ve been an old food wrapper… Or a condom. He prayed for the prior.

  
“I grew up in a small trailer!” Dick’s arms were locked around Jason’s neck, “there was nothing to clean!”

  
  
“And then I bet you let Alfred handle all your messes at the manor,” Jason chided his boyfriend.

“He preferred it like that!” Dick planted desperate kisses onto Jason’s face and neck to avoid being put down.

  
  
“Since you were more likely to make the mess worse,” Jason finally managed to untangle Dick and get him on the couch.

“Not everyone could be Alfred’s favorite,” Dick pouted pitifully and shot Jason a pointed look. There was no point denying it. Jason received the most prepared meals from their doting, adoptive grandpa. And to the British butler, food equaled love.

“Well, you are everyone else’s favorite,” Jason helped Dick remove the top half of his uniform. Frowning, Jason’s fingers traced around the cuts. Dick’s skin was hot to the touch.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Dick shifted to find a more comfortable position.

Wordlessly, Jason got the first-aid kit from the coffee table. At least his disorderly boyfriend always kept that well-stocked. 

He had assumed before that patching up the cuts would make him feel better, but it was the opposite. If only he arrived sooner to help... 

“Hey,” Dick’s hand tilted Jason’s chin up. His eyebrows furrowed, making several worry lines pop up on his golden skin. “Am I yours?”

  
  
“My what?” 

“Your favorite,” a hint of exasperation coloured Dick’s tone.

“Seriously?” The tightness in Jason’s chest loosened. Sometimes he just couldn’t believe his boyfriend’s bravado…  
  


“Yeah, seriously!” 

“Of course you’re my favorite,” Jason pulled away from Dick’s hand. Focusing on the first-aid kit, he willed his blush to go away. Sure, he had dark skin, but not even his helmet could block the heat emanating from his cheeks. “Now stop squirming!”

“You’re my favorite too,” Dick admitted softly. 

No longer caring about his blush, Jason peered up and caught his breath. Dick’s gaze had never wandered. 

Just maybe… in this world full of magic and scientific phenomenons, Nightwing once flew so high that his eyes caught a bit of twilight for themselves. 

If anyone could be so blessed, it would be his passionate and kind boyfriend. 

Jason deliberately ran his fingers down Dick’s bare arm to his ungloved hand. He then graced each of Dick’s knuckles with a light kiss. 

A tight inhale came from Dick. 

Dick put his hand on the back of Jason’s neck to pull him forward. Instinctively, Jason supported his own weight on the couch to avoid crushing Dick. He melted into the kiss that lasted and lasted and lasted… Finally, Jason had to separate himself from his boyfriend. 

“We should be careful,” he averted his eyes from Dick’s disappointed look, “don’t want to pull on the bandages and make the injuries worse.”

Dick reached forward, his fingers just barely missing Jason’s chest, “you’re hurt too.” 

“Just a scratch,” Jason shrugged, but Dick wasn’t going to accept that. 

  
  
  
  
  


Soon enough, both boys were shirtless and bandaged up on the couch. Jason’s arm laid cozily around Dick’s shoulders like it was made to be there. 

His boyfriend was clicking through channels on the TV at near light-speed. Sighing contentedly, Dick eventually stopped and rested his head on Jason. 

“What’s this?” Jason wasn’t so sure about the garish colors and excessively emoting characters.

“My favorite soap opera,” Dick patted his knee assuredly, “you’re gonna love it!” 

“Ehh,” Jason flashbacked to his childhood squatting underneath the kitchen table. His parents were arguing loudly at the door while a telenovela blared from the TV (for whose enjoyment, Jason didn’t know). 

“I know!” Dick clapped his hands together gleefully, “we should play a game.”

  
  
“What kind of game?”

  
  
“Every time the characters kiss, we kiss,” Dick grinned. 

“Uhhh, sure,” Jason hesitantly agreed. Like what, the characters would kiss once or twice. Five times at the most, Jason estimated. 

They kissed nine times in the first ten minutes. Not even Tamaraneans kissed that much!

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  


And Jason would’ve known. Last year, he was the odd one out during a visit to Kory’s home planet. Everyone seemed to be macking on each other. Even Kory and Roy ditched him for an orgy. It’s not like he was purposefully excluded...

Several Tamaraneans invited Jason to their beds. And while flattered, the idea made his stomach twist up in knots. 

He needed another sort of entertainment. Luckily, Tamaran was also known for their battle prowess.

As the princess’s guest, Jason was granted the freedom to wander. After getting lost and stumbling upon a couple into some kinky foreplay (actually thinking back it may have been attempted murder…), he finally ended up in the Royal Armory. 

The ginormous axes and razor-sharp swords were impressive (and a further reminder not to cause an interplanetary incident). Although the scanty armor seemed more adequate for the bedroom than the battlefield. 

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  


A gasp from his boyfriend brought Jason back to the present. He returned Dick’s affections with greater force, tilting his chin just so. After the fifth kiss, Jason started getting creative. He had to. Otherwise, the lip-smashing became unbearably dull. Nipping at Dick’s lower lip, Jason got a tongue-reprieve. A shrill scream rang from the TV. Dick regretfully pulled away and returned his attention to the program.

Relieved, Jason sighed internally. What was wrong with cuddling? Jason didn’t understand Dick’s fascination with making out. 

His boyfriend, oblivious to Jason’s discomfort, gasped at the big reveal of Hortencia’s evil twin sister. Eyes wide and gaping mouth, Dick looked ridiculously dorky. 

Jason did his best to memorize every line and indent on his boyfriend’s expressive face. Ever since their first date, he had been taking mental snapshots of their time together. He wanted to remember as much of it as possible. To be honest, their relationship still felt too good to be true. And the last time something felt too good to be true, he was beaten with a crowbar and blown up.

That’s why if an evil telepath cracked open his head right then, they’d be overwhelmed by Dick pics. 

A commercial began rolling. Something about lawn mowers? And yet the two women on the screen wore tight-fitting clothes, completely impractical for yard work. One revved the machine while the other simultaneously yanked her into a demanding kiss.

Just why? Where did that come from?

  
  
“Should commercials count?” Dick grinned salaciously at Jason.

“No!” Jason said perhaps a bit too forcefully. He tried to laugh it off. “My kisses aren’t that cheap.”

“I could find a way to pay you back,” Dick’s hand snaked down to Jason’s hip. 

“Explain to me what the hell just happened with Hortencia and her two ex-husbands and I’ll consider it,” Jason cut him off.

Dick sucked in a huge breath and took up the challenge. 

By the end of Dick’s explanation, Jason was somehow even more confused about the plot. But he did invent a foolproof exit plan. 

  
“One second, babe!” Jason stood up, “gotta take a piss.”

“Okay, want me to pause the show?” Dick’s finger hovered over the remote.

  
  
“No! It’s fine. You enjoy and I’ll be back in a bit,” Jason promised, the lie leaving a sour taste in his mouth. 

After the bathroom door shut, Jason’s shoulders slumped and he leaned heavily against the pink-and-white tiled wall. It was official. He hated soap operas. 

Maybe he could fake a stomach ache and camp out in the bathroom for the rest of the program. Or he could call Artemis and get roped into some crucial Outlaws business. 

But his stupid conscience rebelled against those plans. Bluffing to drug lords, lying to Bruce’s face, and pretending to be deceased was second nature at that point. But… He couldn’t deceive Dick. He knew what happened to couples without trust. His parents were the worst example to follow. 

He moved forward to face the mirror: eyes conflicted, lips sore, hands jittery. Anxiety was not a good look on him. 

Fuck this. He shouldn’t feel this bad about kissing his boyfriend. By all accounts, it should be mind-blowing, nerves-sparking, blood-racing, toe-tingling bliss. 

Something was wrong with his body. He knew how he should be feeling. It had to be his lack of experience. Right now, he just had to bear through it and it’d get better. Then they’d be a normal couple. 

Resolute, Jason pushed his loose hairs off his forehead and forced his fingers through his snarls. 

Deep breath. 

After exhaling weakly, Jason straightened his shoulders and moved towards the door. Time to get back out there. 

For a second, Jason’s heart stuttered. Did Dick walk out on him? Drawing closer, he found his boyfriend sprawled out on the couch. Dick lifted his head and dozily acknowledged his return.

“Hey, babe,” Dick yawned, “the last few days finally hit me. Mind if I use your lap as a pillow?” 

“Just don’t drool on it,” Jason gruffly ordered and settled into place. 

The soap opera played on, but Jason paid it no mind. Instead, he winded his fingers through Dick’s thick hair. 

Soon enough, little kitten snores drifted up from his sleeping boyfriend.

Gently as not to wake him, Jason traced his thumb over Dick’s sharp cheekbones down to his soft lips.

Kissing could wait another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As someone who values communication, I've still always found it difficult to talk about my sexual preferences with my partners. That stemmed from of a lack of knowledge on asexuality, insecurity and doubt about my place on the spectrum, and feelings of obligation that come from an allo-centric media and allo-friends. It's frustrating thinking about all the trouble I could've saved myself if only I had been more honest about my feelings.


	4. The Puppy Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new, furry member is introduced to Jason and Dick's duo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: there will be a short scene with certain characters showing ignorance/prejudice against non-binary people. 
> 
> Also a minor slur against African Americans but used out of context.
> 
> No pasa nada = don’t worry  
> Tranquilízate = calm down  
> No te salva ni el medico chino = there is no hope for you.

“Mr. Grayson really is something, isn’t he?” Cindy’s mother remarked. 

“He definitely has flair,” added Dominique's stepmother.

“Must be the showman in him,” Wang Yi Xi’s father said decisively. 

Jason scoffed from his place apart from the starstruck parents and their kids. Their eyes tracked the gymnast teacher’s flips and swings on the trapeze above. As always, Dick’s students begged for a show after class. And a Flying Grayson never disappointed. 

His moves here were even more impressive than usual, not curbed by the practicality of vigilante work. Dick’s signature quadruple flip still took Jason’s breath away, just like it did all those years ago in the circus tent. 

The parents also admired him for a myriad of reasons: the sleeveless, sky-blue unitard that hugged his every curve and edge being a big one.

Jason squashed the urge to hide his gorgeous boyfriend from the view of these thirsty, middle-aged people. 

Finished, Dick landed smartly on the platform to a loud applause. Jason caught his eye and made a gesture towards the door. He would wait outside for Dick to be released from his adoring fans. 

  
  
  


The gym where Dick worked was located on an interesting street along with a pawnshop, bookstore, tarot-card reading place, and FroYo stand. However, Jason didn’t feel like socializing right then, so he opted for a short walk down the road.

Nearing the end of Barnaby St., Jason was about to turn around when a quiet whimper made him pause. It came from the alley.

Concerned, he walked in with a hand resting on the firearm in his pocket. The alley was empty, except for a crusty dumpster and scattered cigarette butts. 

Another whimper burst out from behind the dumpster. Jason hurried over and found a… dog? The creature was covered in dirt, and more worryingly, blood on its right paw. 

“ _No pasa nada_ , little guy,” Jason muttered comfortingly as he kneeled, “I’m not gonna hurt ya. _Tranquilízate_ _.”_

Obviously fatigued, the dog was in no shape to struggle, but it snarled a warning anyway.

Jason fished some crackers out of his other pocket (normally reserved for the soup at Panera) and held them out gingerly.

Hunger trumping fear, the dog snuffled forward and took a cracker between its teeth. And another and another until Jason’s hand was empty. 

While the dog was distracted, Jason finished his visual examination. The dog, likely four to seven years old, stepped on something sharp. Likely a shattered beer bottle given the sharp odor. Besides that, the dog seemed to be healthy despite the malnourishment. 

“Jason!” Dick’s voice called from the street, “where’d you go?”

  
“Over here!” Jason raised his voice as loud as he dared, not wanting to scare the already-suspicious animal. 

Dick wandered over, already changed into his regular clothes: the white polo shirt and washed-out jeans probably a poor choice for touring an alley, “awww, a puppy!” 

“Shhhh!” Jason hushed the already-besotted man, “it’s injured and scared.”  
  


“Ohhh,” Dick kept his distance, “will it let you carry it home?”

  
“Only one way to find out,” Jason slowly took off his jacket and bundled it around the dog. Besides some growling, the little creature didn’t protest. It must’ve been a house pet at some point. Jason wondered what led it to the streets. 

It wasn’t too difficult transporting the dog back to Dick’s apartment. It weighed about the same as two ArmaLite rifles. 

Cleaning it up in the bath was a whole other story. Everyone was soaking wet at the end of it (Dick really should’ve changed into some older clothes, but he refused to leave their new houseguest). 

“Who’s a good boy? You are! Yes, you are!” Dick cooed at the now black-tan-and-white dog. Apparently, the Golden Boy’s charm translated well to animals because the dog was lapping up the attention. “Look!” Dick held up the dog’s two floppy ears, “they’re huge like yours!” 

“Okay, rude,” Jason chuckled, “but he’s got your puppy eyes.” 

“Can we keep him?” Dick focused said puppy eyes onto his boyfriend. 

“You can hardly feed yourself,” Jason didn’t budge, at least not outwardly, “I’m not gonna let you adopt an animal just to eventually add him to Damian’s ragtag collection.”

“I wouldn’t do that! Besides, where else will he go? He didn’t come with a collar.”

  
“... I may know a place.”

  
“Yes?”

“We can go tomorrow,” Jason decided, “it’s already past ten o’clock and you need sleep.”

“I’m fine!” Dick’s giant yawn belied his words.

“I told you to take a break from the gym. Fighting the Blockbuster Gang did a number on you.”

  
  
“Couldn’t let the kids down,” Dick’s eyelids drooped a bit. 

“Come on, martyr,” Jason helped Dick to his feet and then scooped up the dog, “time to go to bed.” 

Before long, Dick and the dog were dead to the world. Jason, on the other hand, was still utterly awake. 

It’s not like he hadn’t slept in Dick’s bed before. After long patrol nights, they both would hunker down at whichever place was closest. Exhausted, Jason would be unconscious before his head fully sunk into the pillow.

However, Jason didn’t have a day job like Dick to deplete his energy. And the toll from Blockbuster Gang had already passed. Leaving him...restless. 

Jason threw off the covers but still felt too hot from the body heat of the bed’s other occupants. Dick was sprawled out in the middle of the mattress with the dog laying across his stomach. The dog must've been dreaming about burying bones or something because its tail kept flipping against Jason’s arm. 

Jason wanted to turn over on his side, but couldn’t risk disturbing their sleep.

A pungent odor hit Jason’s nostrils. Alright, that was the last straw! He snatched a blanket and pillow. The living room sofa would have to do. Jason left the bedroom door open to air out the fart. 

  
  
  
  


“Hey, what are you doing out here?”

  
Jason blearily opened his eyes at the sound of Dick’s voice, “hrrnnngh.” Dressed for the day, Dick stood over Jason while the dog sat ready at his knee. 

“You farted in your sleep,” Jason wasn’t very talkative in the morning. 

“Couldn’t have been me!” Dick denied the accusation, “I’m a gentleman!”

“The dog then,” Jason lifted the blanket over his head to block out the sunlight streaming from the windows. 

“Nuh-uh, Mr. Barnaby is a gentledog!” 

“Barnaby?” Jason lowered the blanket to see if Dick was joking.

“Yeah, ya know, after the street we found him on!” 

“Why would you name the mutt right before we drop him off at the animal shelter?”

“So that’s where we’re going?” Dick bounced in place, “I can’t wait to see all the cuties!” 

Jason tried to burrow his way back in the blanket. It was too early for all this energy, but Dick yanked it off of him and plopped a kiss on his forehead.

“You gotta get up!” Dick announced, “don’t want the eggs and bacon to get cold.” With his boyfriend’s cooking, Jason figured the food could be a lot worse than cold.

  
  
  


After sharing their slightly-burnt breakfast with Barnaby, they headed out to Blüdhaven’s biggest animal shelter. 

Regardless of the early hour, the establishment already had other visitors. 

“What do you mean there aren’t any purebreds here?” A lanky, brown-haired man and short, blonde woman stalked the teenage volunteer around the yard.

  
“I meant that there aren’t any purebreds here. This is a non-profit animal shelter. Most of the animals are mixed breeds.” 

“We have money if that’s the issue,” the woman disregarded everything just stated, “you have to understand, all we want is a cute, little puppy, like a Yorkie or even a Maltese. But it has to be well-trained. We entertain a lot of guests and don’t want them getting bothered.”

“You may be better off going to a breeder,” the volunteer worked a pooper scooper around a particularly big pile of droppings.

“But their prices are ridiculous! And all we want to do is offer some unfortunate pup a good home,” the woman lamented.

“The purebred, well-trained puppy?” The volunteer’s words dripped with wasted sarcasm, the couple didn’t register any of it.

  
“Exactly! Do you know when your bosses are returning? Maybe they could be helpful,” the woman pursed her bright pink lips together. At this point, Dick was ready to charge up there and give the couple a piece of his mind, but Jason stopped him.

"Don't worry, Ridley prefers to deal with fools on their own," Jason still kept his eyes on them, just in case.

“No, I don’t. But they’ll say the same thing that I am,” the volunteer told the woman firmly.

“Excuse me,” the man got right up into the volunteer’s face, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to offend, but what are you?”

  
“What?”

  
“I mean, you sound like a girl, but you’re mostly dressed up like a boy,” the man gestured to the volunteer’s outfit, “so which one is it?”

  
“Neither, I’m non-binary,” the volunteer flatly stated.

“Okay, but that’s not a real thing,” the man didn’t let up. He only jumped away when the droppings slipped from the pooper scooper onto his brown-leather shoe.

“Oh, dipswitches! I’m soo sorry,” the volunteer’s face twisted into a theatrical gasp. 

“Damn it!” Cursing, the man jumped up and down to get the droppings off, “let’s go, Karen!”

  
“Your bosses will be hearing about this!” the woman stuck up her nose at the volunteer and helped her husband hop back to their car. 

  
  
  


Dick and Jason waited for a heartbeat before approaching the volunteer.

“Hey, Ridley,” Jason spoke up first.

“Hey, Jay,” Ridley purposefully rhymed, “this a potential new pet owner?”

“Yes!” Dick grinned cheerfully.

“No!” Jason shook his head forcefully, “this is my boy. I mean, my manfriend… god damn it!” 

“I’m Dick, his boyfriend,” Dick outstretched his hand to shake Ridley’s, “pardon Jay, this is the first time we’ve used the label with other people! But I guess this is good practice for the weekend.” 

Inwardly, Jason groaned. Why did Dick have to remind him of their impending visit to the Manor? As if he didn’t already know what the family would say about him dating their golden boy. 

Ridley just looked at Dick scrutinizingly behind their giant spectacles, “you may wanna wait for me to wash my hands first.”

  
“Oh, right,” Dick took his hand back, “by the way, I love your outfit!” Above the waist, Ridley was decked out in a brown vest over a red sweatshirt. Below the waist, they had on a pink skirt with grass-colored tights beneath and long, tan boots. To tie it all together, an olive-green fanny pack wrapped around their waist. 

“Oh! Well, thank you,” Ridley beamed. 

_“No te salva ni el medico chino,”_ Jason muttered under his breath at Dick. _Gracias a Dios,_ his boyfriend mostly wore gifts from the family. Dick’s own thrift-store purchases made very… creative ensembles. Right now, Dick was wearing a red hoodie a couple of sizes too big for him. It was Jason’s, but he didn’t mind. Although, the sight stoked a possessive flare inside of him.

“So that couple...” Jason wondered out loud.

“What about them?” Ridley blinked innocently at him.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

  
“Talk shit, get hit with shit,” Ridley’s eyes lit up with mirth. Then they squinted at the squirming bundle of jacket in Jason’s arms. 

“What do you have there?”

  
“Barnaby,” Dick moved the hood away to reveal the dog’s head, “we found him hurt and alone in an alley yesterday. He hates traveling by car, so Jay had to cuddle to get him to calm down.”

“Awww, what a sweetheart,” Ridley smiled, it was unclear whether they were referring to Barnaby or Jason, “bring him inside.” 

The animal shelter was a one-story, brick building with several rooms: the first being split up in kennels for the adult dogs. 

“Hello, my lovelies!” Ridley announced their entrance and made their rounds to pat each dog on the head. They then gave their undivided attention to Barnaby, “you did a good job patching him up,” Ridley observed, having given the paw a look over. 

“I know my first-aid,” Jason shrugged.

“And the plot thickens…” Ridley lowered their voice into a mysterious tone.

“Huh?” Dick looked back-and-forth at them both.

“You didn’t know? Mr. Jay Peters here started visiting about a year ago. Usually bringing in some stray and supplies. Hardly ever offering any personal information.”

  
  
“I’m a private person,” Jason defended himself.

“How about you?” Dick sidestepped the sensitive topic with his own questions, “how long have you volunteered here?”

  
“And aren’t you supposed to be at school right now?” Jason leaned over the kennel to pat a giant, fluffy hound on the head.

“Look at a calendar sometimes, it’s Memorial Day,” Ridley rolled their eyes, “and I’ve volunteered here since I was a kid.”

  
  
“Says the fifteen-year-old,” Jason smirked.

“Don’t mock me!” They stuck their tongue out at him, “I basically run this place!”

  
  
“What does that make us then?” Two older men set foot in the room, making the dogs go wild.

“Chop liver?” The other man finished the sentence. 

“Hmm, my assistants?” Ridley tapped their chin thoughtfully. 

“Very funny,” the first man squatted down to be at eye level with Dick and Barnaby, “and who do we have here?” 

“My name’s Dick and this is Barnaby,” Dick ruffled the fur on the dog’s head.

“Cool names,” the man commented, “I’m Rasheed and the man in the garish orange shirt is my husband Kumail. We're the official owners of this establishment.”

  
  
“The shirt is vintage!” Kumail pouted, but Jason had to side with his husband. The blinding orange shirt was made out to be even more bright against Kumail’s caramel skin.

“Well, I love it!” Dick soothed him.

“Me too!” Ridley agreed. 

“Brown-nosers,” Rasheed laughed.

“As if your fashion senses are all that heightened,” Jason cocked an eyebrow at Dick and Ridley. 

“Ouch, I’m wounded,” Dick dramatically placed his hand over his heart, “at least Barnaby appreciates me.”

  
  
“Only ‘cause he’s colorblind,” Jason moved over to sit with Dick and Rasheed. 

“So what brings you here today?” Rasheed asked Dick.

  
  
“His boyfriend,” Ridley nodded their head at Jason.

“Oh really!” Kumail exclaimed, “guess that means I win the bet.”

  
“What bet?” Jason knew he'd regret asking.

“That you’re a shut-in homo.”

“Okay, now that’s an invasion of my privacy!” Jason exclaimed. 

“Actually he’s had his dalliances with women,” Dick revealed, “so I’d say more of a bashful bi, right, Jay?”

“Err yeah,” Jason agreed without thinking too hard about it.

“So how’d you two get together?” Rasheed asked. 

“It’s complicated,” Jason started, but Dick decided to give it his best shot. 

“We knew each other growing up, but then Jay moved away. Later on, we met up again under different circumstances, but I was still thrilled to have him back in my life! We only started dating recently ‘cause I asked out this dense man,” Dick wrapped his hand around Jason’s.

“Doesn’t sound too complicated to me,” Rasheed remarked.

“You’ve got no idea,” Jason said.

“There you go, being all mysterious again,” Ridley laughed.  


“Tell me about it,” Dick faced Jason, “I can’t believe you’ve been visiting this place regularly and never once thought to invite me!” 

“How could I risk losing you? You’re so cute that someone would adopt you right away,” Jason flirted shamelessly. 

“Shuddup,” a rosy blush painted Dick’s cheeks.

“Talking about cute…” Rasheed stood up, “do you two want to visit our new litter of puppies? They get snatched up quickly, so this may be your only chance.” 

Jason hesitated, looking at Barnaby. 

“No worries, I can take care of your friend here,” Ridley promised, “I can even put your names on the adoption waiting list.”

  
“That’d be perfect!” Both Dick and Barnaby’s puppy eyes wandered over to Jason.

“Only if we put up flyers too,” Jason surrendered, “someone may be missing their dog.”

“Deal!” 

  
  
  


In the next room, six, tail-wagging, fur balls of puppies pounced on Dick: pure happiness radiated off of the man. 

Jason was content with staying out of the kennel.

“Join the party!” Dick called out to his boyfriend.

“Hard pass,” Jason took a picture on his phone. It would be a great bribe if he ever needed a favour from one of Dick’s former lovers. 

Dick was unable to respond, currently forced onto his back and licked relentlessly by the puppies. 

“Ahh, no!” Jason grimaced, “why are you letting them slobber all over you?”

  
“It’s how they show their love!” Dick’s voice came out muffled.

“If they want love, give them a belly rub or something!” 

“Pfft, you’re no fun.”  
  


“No, that’s messy and unhygienic!” Jason countered.

  
Rasheed and Kumail were cracking up at their ridiculous couple argument, “keep talking like that, Jay, and people will think you’re just against kissing in general!”

  
Jason grumbled and stayed quiet, his attention already taken by some quick movement at the door. A cat jumped on a nearby table. 

“Hey, Petey!” Jason walked over to the black cat to scratch under its chin. 

“Petey?” Dick struggled to sit up. 

“Yeah, we named it after Jay Peters over here because of their matching white streaks!” Rasheed explained, “also they’re both kinda loners.” 

Another black cat clambered up less gracefully onto the table and began to purringly rub its side against Petey’s.

“Well, not much of loners anymore,” Rasheed corrected himself. 

“So Petey got a new friend,” Jason remarked, pulling his hand away after the new cat’s yellow eyes shot him a territorial look.

“Very new, he just came in a couple of days ago, but they’ve been inseparable. Wanna name him?” Kumail asked.

“He didn’t come with a name?”

  
  
“The previous owner called him Blackie,” Kumail shrugged, “very elderly lady.”

“Ohhh,” Jason gave it some thought, “how about Goldie then? It’s not so different to confuse the cat.”  
  


“I like it, because of his eyes?”  
  


“Uh yeah,” Jason’s gaze wandered over to his boyfriend. The puppies were finally calming down a smidge.

Dick walked over, careful not to step on a puppy. “Aww, how adorable. They’re hugging!”

  
“They’re doing more than hugging,” Rasheem quickly walked forward to shoo them away, “no PDA in front of the puppies!”

Jason made a face.

“It's just nature,” Kumail apologized, “love really does bloom in the spring season, huh?”

“I guess,” for whatever reason, Jason felt low-key betrayed by Petey the cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Rasheed and Kumail are OC characters made for this fic, Ridley is based off a character from this fantastic Netflix cartoon "Glitch Techs." 
> 
> When Ridley first showed up in the show, I really wondered if the creators were introducing a non-binary character to the already diverse cast. Turned out not to be the case :( but they can be non-binary in this fic!


	5. The Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Jason and Dick to formally come out to their family. Luckily, none of them has anger management issues and owns a pointy sword. Oh wait...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Los chismosos = the gossips 
> 
> Mira = look
> 
> daj = mother
> 
> dat = father

“ _I want something just like this!_ _Doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo_ ,” Dick sang from the top of his lungs to compete with the blaring car radio. 

“Focus on driving, Dick!” A particularly rough turn pressed Jason against the car door on the passenger side.

  
“I’m multitasking,” his boyfriend continued to drive recklessly on the (thankfully) empty country road. 

“Yeah, on ruining my hearing and breaking my bones,” Jason retorted, his lack of sleep making him grumpy. 

“That’s harsh,” the car slowed down a bit and the music lowered. 

“I—sorry,” Jason rubbed his fists over his eyes as if to wipe away the dark circles beneath them. He was up all last night. **Not** because he was worried about today. Jason stopped caring about what Bruce thought of him a long time ago... “Just not feeling up to this.”

  
  
“We could come back later,” Dick hesitated, “maybe doing this at breakfast was a bad idea. Alfred’s the only morning person in this family besides me.”

  
  
“...That’s probably for the best. Even Bruce can’t be intimidating with an orange juice stache,” Jason rested a comforting hand on Dick’s elbow, “and if we’re lucky they’ll all be too tired to react until after we’re gone.” 

“You know, I’m sure they’ll take it better than you think. I’ve already gotten a lot of supportive texts from Tim, Steph, and Babs,” Dick slowed the car to a stop at the side of the road. 

“Of course, they’re okay with _you,”_ Jason refused to meet Dick’s eyes, “you’re not the black sheep of the family. Or red sheep in my case.”

  
  
“Are you kidding me? Everyone was bending over backwards to get you back into the fold. If anything, they’ll be pissed at me for risking that relationship.”

“They expect me to go on a shooting spree if we break up? Wow, really feeling the trust now,” Jason replied dryly.

“Noo,” Dick dragged a hand through his raven locks, looking way too perfect for 10 in the morning, “don’t put words in my mouth. No matter what happens with us, your place in the family will always be secure. I would’ve thought all the times that we nearly died in order to reach you would’ve proven that.”

  
  
“Pfft, ya all would risk your lives for anyone,” Jason acted nonchalant despite the warm feeling growing inside of him.

“But you’re not just anyone,” Dick leaned forward and Jason inwardly cringed, expecting another make-out session to follow this Hallmark scene. However, Dick wrapped his arms around him. Jason relaxed into the loving hold. He remembered moving into the manor all those years ago and receiving the same hug (after Dick got over his issues with Bruce). Back then, he thought that first Boy Wonder gave the best hugs and immediately swore never to tell him that. But things were different now… 

“You give the best hugs,” Jason whispered into Dick’s ear.

“Learned from the best,” Dick chuckled into his shoulder.

  
  
“Your parents?”

  
“My _daj_ and _dat_ did give great hugs. But I'm talking about Zitka, no one can hug quite like an elephant can,” the guys laughed, still in a tight embrace. Jason could intimately feel every shake of Dick’s chest. More than anything, he wanted to skip the sure-to-be-awkward breakfast and just cuddle with his boyfriend. Maybe pick up some Batburgers and Jokerized fries. Enjoy another private picnic. But Dick really wanted this to go over well... And if Jason was being honest with himself, so did he.

After a few minutes, he pulled himself away from Dick. “Raise the volume, I want them to hear us coming from a mile away.” 

“ _Just something I can turn to, Somebody I can kiss, I want something just like this_ ,” Dick’s ridiculous falsetto tangled with Jason’s deeper baritone. They rolled onto the manor driveway without any self-consciousness. 

A loud knock hit the side of the car. “Stop that racket immediately! You’re disturbing Batcow,” Damian demanded, appearing as threatening as a kid could in Superman pajamas. 

“Sorry, Lil’ D!” Dick switched off the radio and got out of the car, “the music took control of me.”

  
  
“ _-TT-_ ” Damian stoically accepted a hug from Dick, “what a ridiculous notion.”

  
  
“Hey, grem-” Jason stopped himself and tried again, “morning, kid. How’ve you been?”

  
  
Damian squinted his familiar green eyes at him suspiciously, “what trouble have you gotten into this time? Drake and Brown won’t stop whispering your name.”

_Los chismosos._ Jason was going to have to talk with those two. If they were gonna tip the little brat off, couldn’t they have at least broken the news to him as well? Damian wouldn’t have gone all the way to Blüdhaven to murder him. Actually scratch that. Damian totally would’ve done that. 

“Ahh, we’re actually here to talk about that. But inside,” Dick hooked one arm through Damian’s and waved the other at the people waiting by the manor door. 

“Fine, but you will talk,” Damian ceded and let himself be pulled back inside. Jason’s hand twitched, wanting to hold Dick’s free one, but he shoved it inside his jacket pocket. Had to break it to the kid slowly. He was really regretting leaving all his weapons at his safehouse though. 

As usual, the manor smelled like a museum, but Jason could pick up a whiff of bacon and eggs nearby. 

“Finally, you guys are here!” Stephanie squealed and jumped at Dick, “what took you so long?”

  
  
“It’s a three-hour drive from Blüdhaven!” Dick let go of his little brother to catch Stephanie. Both giggling, he swung her around in a spinning hug before letting go slowly. Jason shared an eye roll with Tim. If Bruce was the Dark Knight then Stephanie and Dick were the Rainbow and Kitten Knights. 

“What about the Boom Tubes? And you’ve got at least two speedsters in your contacts…” 

“But we’re glad that you’re both here now,” Tim interrupted Stephanie’s chattering. 

“Yeah, Tim downed like three cups of coffee waiting for ya all,” Stephanie teasingly nudged an elbow into Tim’s side. 

“You inhaled two whole waffles!” Tim shot back.

“And I still have room for more!” Stephanie proclaimed, rubbing her belly over a green blouse. She must’ve left her downtown apartment early to catch breakfast with them.

“Hello,” Jason startled to find Cassandra in front of him. Everyone in the Bat Team could move like a ninja, but his adoptive sister was practically a ghost. Her long, white nightgown just added to the effect. 

“Hey, Cass,” Jason offered a bright smile reserved just for her, “how was Hong Kong?”

  
  
“Loud. Good food. You would like,” she grinned back and turned her head to look at Dick, “are you happy?” Jason didn’t need to ask what she was referring to.

“Yes, we both are,” Jason watched his boyfriend talk animatedly with the others.

  
  
“Good,” Cassandra nodded firmly and that was that. 

“Good morning, Master Richard, Master Todd,” Alfred greeted them both in his typical aloof British manner, but his wizened eyes spoke volumes.

“Mornin’, Alfie,” Jason slung his arms around his adoptive grandfather for a quick hug, “I missed you. And your breakfast crêpes.”

  
  
“And I you,” Alfred volunteered freely, “visit more often and I’ll show you how to make them.”

Jason was about to agree when he noticed the old man in the corner, “Bruce.”

“Jason,” Bruce almost imperceptibly moved his head in acknowledgment of his second adopted son. 

“Dick!” Jason’s dork of a boyfriend cried out his own name and approached their adoptive dad, “hey, you’re wearing the pajamas I got you for Christmas.”

Jason failed at thwarting his snort. Bruce’s top was emblazoned with the text “DAD. YOU’RE MY HERO!” along with a Justice League symbol. 

“Way to be subtle,” Jason observed, “what if he had a civilian guest over?”

  
  
“Then no one would be wearing pajamas,” Tim shuddered. 

“Yes, did you block out the trauma of living with a billionaire playboy?” Dick asked Jason. 

“Enough of that,” Bruce scolded them, giving Damian the side-eye. 

“I am aware of Father’s other nightlife, there is no need to shield me from such topics,” Damian refused to be treated as a child.

“And at that note, let’s return to breakfast before it becomes cold,” Alfred ushered them into the kitchen. Everyone instinctively claimed their regular spots at the huge counter. 

“Yay! You got cocoa puffs,” Dick beamed at Alfred while pouring himself a bowl. 

“Oh please, the chocolate-chip waffles are far superior,” Stephanie twirled her fork in the air before stuffing her mouth. Tim exchanged yet another glance with Jason. Stephanie was the only one who genuinely appreciated Alfred’s paste-tasting waffles.

“This is breakfast not dessert,” Bruce raised an eyebrow at his kids, but he knew that it was a lost cause.

  
“It’s both,” whipped cream dotted Cassandra’s cheeks from her Nutella and strawberry crêpe. 

In contrast, Bruce’s plate was filled with scrambled eggs and a banana at the side. Alfred stacked some pancakes and bacon on Tim’s plate to go with his fourth cup of coffee. Damian was about to dig his fingers into the cereal box when Alfred swiped it away.

“No hands in the cereal box, Master Damian,” Alfred shot a look at Dick, “don’t copy the bad habits of others.”

  
  
“I’m hurt, Alfred,” Dick innocently fluttered his eyes at the butler, “I have long since learned my manners.” 

“Hrmph,” Alfred handed the cereal box back to Damian along with a bowl and spoon.

“So, you have news?” Bruce directed his question at Jason and Dick. Of course, the old man would be the first to break the jovial mood. 

“Uhm yeah,” Dick swallowed a spoonful of cereal, “don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. It’s actually really good! Right, Jason?”

  
  
“Yeah,” Jason was not about to let his boyfriend place the burden on him, “why don’t you share the good news, Dickie? It’s only fair because you started it.”

  
  
Everyone looked back at Dick, but a ringing sound interrupted them. The golden boy rushed to answer his cell phone. “Hello! Oh. No thanks, bye!” 

After hanging up, he faced his boyfriend, “phew, just a telemarketer.”

Stephanie shot him a quizzical look, “what were you expecting?”

“Jason made me put up flyers in case our stray really is lost from home,” Dick complained.

“Seriously? You know I can easily create a search algorithm on social media to see if anyone is missing their dog,” Tim cocked a judgmental eyebrow at them. 

“That would be overkill,” Jason finished his first banana caramel crêpe and reached over for another. This conversation took a different turn than expected.

“You got a dog together? Back when Gotham was your residence, you refused to get a horse with me!” Damian slammed his fist on the counter with righteous anger.

  
“Ok, but that’s a whole other level of responsibility!” Dick shot back like a man who’s heard that argument way too many times, “not to mention, we were mostly staying in the penthouse then. Where would we stick the horse? In the bathroom?”

“When did you get the dog?” Bruce questioned carefully.

  
“So we found him on Monday, but the shelter is keeping Barnaby housed until we gather the right supplies and clean up my apartment,” Dick explained.

“That’ll be another week then just to fix up the living room,” Stephanie snorted. 

“I know, right!” Jason groaned, “and don’t even get me started on his bedroom. He just throws everything in his closet and then there’s still trash on the floor!”  
  
“You seem to have become really familiar with Grayson’s living quarters, Todd,” Damian’s lips flattened into a grim line.

“Uhm yeah…” Jason admitted, “I’ve been visiting a bit more lately.” 

“It’s been so nice having Jason around!” Dick effused, “we work so well together. I run ahead, he always has my back. Someone takes a shot at me, he responds two-fold. If I’m hurt, he takes care of me. And I do the same for him. And um, well, that’s part of what made me realize that I always want him around. Not just on the field but when I’m relaxing after a good day at work, or watching a movie, or just enjoying the night sky on a rooftop,” Dick paused to catch Jason’s eyes and saw something there to keep going, “and that’s why I asked him out last month. On a date. And I’m happy to report that he said yes.” 

Jason watched the micro-contortions play out on Bruce’s face. At least his reaction was less explosive than feared. Yeah. The Demon Brat was explosive enough for the both of them.

“What!” Damian spluttered, milk flying out of his mouth, “why would you be with Todd! Do I need to remind you that he kidnapped us and nearly revealed our faces to the world?”

  
  
“He almost revealed a lot more than just your faces,” Stephanie snickered at the memory.

“I…regret doing that,” Jason held back his own snickers and attempted to be more mature than the college student, “and I’m different now. I would never do anything to place Dick in any danger.”

“We are all aware of your growth in these past few years, Master Jason,” of course, Jason could depend on Alfred, “and I for one am happy to see two of my charges find happiness with each other.” 

“You all knew about this, didn’t you?” Damian saw the evidence on their faces, “you too, Father?”

Bruce’s expression was alike to swallowing sour milk, “No. I was also kept in the dark, Damian.” 

“It’s just that… It is so new,” Dick strived to smooth things over, “we weren’t sure where this was going and didn’t want to… jump the gun telling you all.”

“As long as it does not affect your work performance, I see no reason against it,” Bruce pushed his plate forward and stood up, “excuse me, I have some papers to review in my office.”  
  


“He’s pissed,” Tim said after Bruce was out of earshot.

  
“You hurt his feelings,” Cassandra added, quite serious despite wearing half her breakfast on her face. 

“The Batman has feelings?” Jason joked, ignoring the spike of rejection that jabbed his heart. 

“How did you imbeciles know before I did?” Damian glared at Tim and Stephanie, yet didn’t dare to direct his ire at Alfred and Cassandra. 

“Jason told me,” Cassandra spoke anyway. 

“I had a feeling,” Alfred began clearing the empty plates, “and watch your language, young man.”

“I calculated a 76.5% chance of them hooking up after Jason moved to Blüd,” Tim proudly leaned back in his chair. The nerd. There was a 100% chance of Jason kicking at his chair leg, so he did. 

“Honestly, the rise of Hoodwing fanfic tipped me off,” Stephanie took a swig of her orange juice (Alfred not allowing both waffles _and_ hot chocolate for breakfast), “ever since you two started dating, there’ve been more sightings of you together, and the fans have been guzzling that tea.” 

“Seriously?” Jason nearly choked on his coffee. 

“Ah, yeah, I saw that,” Dick coyly smiled, “there’s some good content coming out of it.”

“Enough! Grayson,” Damian walked right up to his oldest brother, “how am I supposed to protect you if I’m not updated on all your poor judgement calls?”

  
  
“You don’t need to protect me, Dami,” Dick set a conciliating hand on the boy’s shoulder, “not from this. I know it’s a shock, but I hope you can accept it. I’d love to have you over sometime to teach Barnaby some tricks.”

  
  
“ _-TT-_ ” Damian sniffed, “you teach animals basic training first before the theatrics. But I suppose _the circus boy_ would not bother with standard procedure.” Stepping out of Dick’s hold, Damian picked up his breakfast and dramatically exited the kitchen.

“Oooh,” both Tim and Stephanie acted like this was a reality TV show.

  
  
“This is the first time he’s called me _the circus boy_ since I moved back to Blüdhaven,” Dick grimaced and jabbed his spoon into the cereal.

“It’ll just take some time to get used to,” Stephanie reassured him.

“I’m still not completely used to it,” Tim was going for a comedic tone, but the result was more earnest than intended. 

“ _Mira_ , none of you have to get used to it. Dick and I are the only ones dating,” Jason reminded them.

“It still affects us,” Stephanie stated, “like what if you two, God forbid, broke up? Would we be split up into sides? Team Dick or Team Jason?” 

“No, of course not, things would just go back to how they were,” Dick promised.

“That’s a bit naive,” Tim commented, “after Stephanie and I broke up, you gave me dirty looks behind my back for weeks afterwards.”

  
  
“What? No,” Dick awkwardly laughed, “those were just looks of _concern_.” 

“I definitely was on Team Stephanie,” Jason casually brought up.

“And I appreciate your honesty,” Tim responded. 

“This family doesn’t take enough time to bask in the good things,” Alfred reflected, “I recommend leaving the sorry predictions alone and instead focus on the new opportunities.”

“Yeah! Like the Pride Parade in a few weeks, you two attending the Gotham one?” Stephanie’s sky-blue eyes widened in excitement. 

“Ha ha no,” Dick shook his head, “we decided that for our first Pride _together,_ it’d be less stressful to stay in Blüdhaven.”

“Gotham does have the largest number of out and queer supervillains,” Tim thoughtfully tapped his chin. 

“And heroes,” Stephanie draped her arm around Cassandra’s shoulders, “but as a straight bitch myself, I take my duty as an ally very seriously, so I’ll be patrolling the streets with Bats, the Signal, Huntress, and Batwing to make sure no terrible shenanigans occur during the parade. Only fun ones like when Harley threw those rainbow-powder bombs at the protesting haters last year.”

Alfred threw a disapproving look her way.

“Oh, come on, Alf!” Stephanie exclaimed, “I heard you chuckling over it too.” 

“How about you, Tim?” Jason asked his younger brother who only recently embarked on a polyamorous relationship with Cassie and Connor. 

“I’m going to attend the Metropolis parade, Connor wants to check out what Lena has planned for Kara.”

“There are benefits to having a filthy-rich girlfriend,” Dick mused, “is it too late for me to become someone’s sugar baby?”

  
  
“Yes, way too late,” the electric charge between Jason and Dick was very powerful. 

“Shucks, guess I’ll have to settle then,” Dick winked saucily at his boyfriend, “and you, Cass? I think Harper mentioned something about you attending Gotham Pride _together_ , along with her brother.” 

“Mmhmm,” Cassandra blushed prettily, “it’ll be the first time that I’ll be participating.”

“Make sure to take some pictures! And maybe you’ll run into Babs and Dinah there. Ya know, Oracle already got huge plans on decorating her wheelchair with flags and balloons.” 

“I like that,” Jason piped up, “maybe we should just tie some pride flags on our bikes and cruise through the parade?”

“Already promised my friends that we’d ride their bi float,” Dick’s puppy eyes targeted Jason, “and I’ve never been on a float before.”

“Fine fine, but I’m not— _ahhh hahh_ —throwing any candy,” Jason’s proclamation would’ve been more impressive without the yawn. 

“More for me then,” Dick shrugged contentedly, “why don’t you catch up on some _zzzs_ , Jayjay?” 

“Your bedroom is all made up for you, Master Jason,” Alfred agreed with Dick. 

“I’ll walk with you, _Jayjay_ ,” Tim got out of his seat too, “I need to get something from my room anyway.” The brothers began strolling through the hallway.

  
  
“Fine, but you call me _Jayjay_ again and I’ll leak that photo of you trying on the original Robin suit.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Tim appeared horrified. 

“Just try me,” Jason swore. After reaching his bedroom door, he noticed Tim not leaving, “what’s up?”

“I just, um…” Tim shifted his weight on his feet, “I am really happy for you and Dick. Like seriously.”

“But?” Jason felt his pulse quicken. He expected this from Damian or Bruce, sure, but not from Tim. As hard as it was to believe, their relationship had been improving for a long while. Jason wasn’t sure he would forgive himself if he was in Tim’s place. He did try to kill the kid at first sight. He likely deserved any reservations that Tim had about him dating the golden boy.

“Well, where does that leave me?” Tim finally said.

  
“Huh?” Jason was 100% baffled.

“I mean with Dick…”

  
  
“Wait, you like Dick??”

  
  
“No, I mean yes, but not in the way you’re thinking!” Tim turned beet red, “I’m happily with two amazing people.”

“So what are you saying?” Jason leaned back on his door, this would be interesting.

  
“You know Dick’s a social butterfly. He makes more friends by visiting a cafe than I do at school,” Tim sighed, “but he’ll make time for Bruce because he’s his second dad, and Damian who’s practically a son, and Alfred because duh Alfred. And now he has you to be all lovey-dovey with.”

  
Jason cringed at Tim’s cheesy word choice.

“So where does that leave me?” Tim finished with a huff, not having taken a breath during his rant.

“You’re worried that he won’t make time for you anymore?” Jason broke out into laughter. “Really?”

  
  
Tim hit his shoulder angrily, “dammit! I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Man, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If anything, he’ll be contacting you even more now. Who else can he bitch to when I annoy him? Can’t talk to an ex. Damian and Bruce are definitely off the table. Dick’s not gonna risk an _I told you so_ from them. Cass and Alf will be on my side. Okay, so you may have to compete to be Dick’s confidante with Steph, but _still._ He’s gonna need your annoyingly, analytical perspective more than ever now.”

“You mean it?” Tim’s complexion was slowly returning to a normal shade.

“Hell yeah, but aren’t you worried about losing me too?”  
  


“Pfft, you don’t got a lot of friends as it is.”

“Little punk,” Jason play-wrestled with Tim and rubbed his fist in the scrawny guy’s hair, “now if you’re done with your crisis, let me go to bed.”

“Thanks, Jason,” Tim took a step forward then stopped, “by the way, I think that you’re underestimating Bruce. He is happy for you too and he’ll realize that once he gets over the shock. I mean, look at it from his perspective. He practically raised you both, tucking you in bed. And now his two oldest boys are _sharing_ a bed. It’s a lot to wrap his head around.”

  
  
“Ermm, yeah, I get your reasoning,” Jason coughed, “well, catch you later, Tim.” 

His bedroom was just as he recalled from his last stay after the Joker nearly roasted his face off with acid. However, it was much neater in comparison to his childhood thanks to Alfred’s strict cleaning regime. Eyeing his old stuff, he picked up a photograph from his desk. It was him and Dick on a ski trip. The latter was grinning his head off like crazy. Jason just remembered how his whole body felt frozen. The best part of that trip was changing into warm pajamas and playing Super Smash Brawl in their hotel room. Back then, things felt like they could only get better. And he guessed that the two people in the photo did end up happy after all, but only after things got much worse first. Jason put the photo back down and fell onto his bed. This deep contemplation was too much for him right then. He was asleep in seconds.

His dreams of drawing on Black Mask’s face with permanent sparkly-pink marker were rudely interrupted by loud voices outside his door. 

“Even the orange alien would be a better choice than him!” Damian’s easily recognizable whine reached his ears. 

“Stop it, you know her name is Kori,” Dick scolded him, “and yes, she’s in an open relationship with Roy, but I am committed to Jason now. He makes me happy, Damian. And that’s the honest-to-god truth whether or not you can comprehend it.”

“So he’s putting his grubby hands on you?” Damian growled, “how many times have you let him defile you?” The little twerp was lucky that Jason was too comfortable to get off his bed and whack him one. 

“OK, I’m not having this conversation with a 13-year-old!” Dick himself sounded close to whacking Damian, “but for your information, Jason’s a gentleman. We haven’t even… It’s none of your business! Now, come on, we don’t want to wake him up!” 

Too late for that. Grumbling, Jason buried himself deeper underneath his Wonder Woman printed covers. Still, his eyes soon drifted closed again.

Only to snap open ten minutes later. 

“Todd,” Damian stood over Jason in a battle stance, out of the Superman pajamas and fully decked in his Robin gear. His sword pointed at Jason’s bare throat.

“Wayne,” Jason copied Damian's overly solemn tone, “are you going to get off of my bed, or am I gonna have to make you?” 

Growling like Goliath, Damian slid off but kept his sword directed at Jason. 

“What’s your problem?” Jason sat up and stretched his arms. From experience, he knew it was better not to encourage the kid’s violent antics.

“What game are you playing with Grayson?”

“I’m not playing at anything,” Jason forced his voice to stay low. 

“Then why don’t you give him what he wants? You know that Grayson is a… tactile person. Are you just pretending to like him to get into good graces with Father?”

“Okay, for starters, that’d be the stupidest plan in the history of plans. And who are you to judge our relationship? Have you even had your first kiss yet?” 

“Yes!” Damian hissed angrily, “Colin and I… shut up! This is about you and Grayson. I would’ve presumed that— with your history— that taking the next step would be simple for you.”

  
“What, what do you mean by _my_ _history_?” Jason could no longer keep his voice down.

“I’ve seen you traipsing around with those harlots,” Damian sniffed at him, “first the Tamaranean, then the Amazon.”

“First off, don’t call women that, it’s offensive,” Jason still couldn’t understand how Talia allowed Damian’s underlying misogyny, must be Ra’s influence, “secondly, just because I’m hanging out with gorgeous women doesn’t necessarily mean I’m hooking up with them!”

“So… You are a virgin?” Damian lowered his sword. 

“Oh my god! Get out, you little brat!” Jason pitched a pillow at the kid’s head. Damian fled, but not before throwing one more jab his way.

“He deserves so much better than you,” Damian stomped through the door and slammed it shut.

“I know,” Jason said to an empty room, “I know he does.” He wasn’t able to fall asleep after that, and soon enough a knock arrived at his door. 

“No, Dick!” He shouted expectantly, “I won’t forget the gremlin even if he slaughtered his cow and made me a lifetime supply of burgers!” 

“She’s a dairy cow, actually,” Bruce slipped into the room.

“Oh,” Jason averted his eyes, “it’s you.” 

“Yeah…” Bruce was as talkative as ever, “mind if I sit with you?”

  
  
“Whatever,” Jason planted his back on the wall as Bruce’s weight was added to the bed. 

“I, um, I have been going over on what I want to say,” Bruce clasped his hands together, looking much too chagrined for a Justice League member, “and it may not be the best put, but Alfred has assured me that patrol will not start until I get it out so…”

“Right, I’ll just make up some wishy-washy conversation to feed him,” Jason waved his hand to brush away the non-issue, “don’t want to get in your way of beating up criminals and lurking on rooftops.”

“No! I want to say this. I already talked with Dick…” Bruce raised his eyes to the high heavens, a rather stupid gesture given that he was an atheist, “I apologize for what I said earlier.”

  
  
“You what?” Jason was sure that his mouth was gaping ridiculously, but he couldn’t find it within himself to close it. The hero with the code, the man who must always be right, was apologizing to his worst failure. This had to be a dream. 

“I’m sorry,” it looked like it physically pained Bruce to say the words, but he managed, “I am proud of you two for being mature and upfront about your relationship. Even with our unique lifestyle. You definitely didn’t learn how to do that from me.”

“Noo,” Jason didn’t know whether to chuckle or pat Bruce’s hand, so he did neither, “but I learned a lot of other things from you. Like how to fight for the little man, to keep getting up no matter the odds, and to stick to your guns. Okay, poor word choice for that last one, but you get my drift.”

“You may be giving me too much credit,” Bruce rubbed his palm on his forehead. Jason noticed some new lines there. Sometimes he forgot. The old man was _old._ Perhaps not in years like Alfred, but in experiences. 

“Maybe,” Jason shrugged shortly. He wasn’t one for pep-talk like his boyfriend. “But if nothing else, you introduced me to Dick. And for that, I’ll always be grateful.”

“It’s good that you two are together,” Bruce carried on, “I can already see the changes.”

  
  
“What— My newfound use of rubber bullets?”

  
  
Bruce gave him a funny look, “I mean your influence on him. Unfortunately, Dick takes after me when it comes to facing new challenges. He’ll run in alone and not bother anyone by asking for help. And end up overworking himself to the point of endangerment.”

“Yeah, he’s got a hero-complex. Your point?”

“Blüdhaven used to be worse than Gotham. Inhabitants were more likely to suffer a crime-related death than pass from natural causes. Furthermore, there weren’t as many good cops like Gordon to even the odds. Taking on someone as powerful as Blockbuster could’ve —no, _should’ve,_ caused much more damage in the aftermath. I knew that, but I still kept my distance. Dick and I were just rebuilding our relationship, I wanted to show that I had trust in him. For all my good intentions, that was my mistake. One that could’ve cost me a son…” It must’ve been a trick of the light, but Jason could’ve sworn that Bruce’s eyes become wet, “but then you arrived and helped shoulder that burden with him. And you both managed to clean up Blüdhaven while preserving as many lives as possible: and that includes Nightwing’s. And I will forever be in your debt for that.”

Jason fidgeted awkwardly. He didn’t know what to say. 

Bruce cleared his throat and stood up, the overhead light casting a shadow on his face. “I expect both of you at Friday family dinners from now on. No more sending excuses with Dick.”

  
  
“Okay,” Jason agreed, still lost in the surrealness of the situation. 

“Good,” and with that, the Dark Knight disappeared from his bedroom. 

“Holy batshit,” Jason slid onto his back again, “did that just happen?” 

Unwilling to stay in bed for yet another visitor, Jason got up to find his boyfriend in the kitchen.

“Look at all the food that Alfred made for us!” Dick gleefully gestured to the pile of Tupperware, “it really pays to be dating the favorite!” 

“Oh!” Dick startled. For once, Jason initiated the kiss. It was just long enough to taste the lingering chocolate on his boyfriend's lips. 

“Agreed,” Jason was far from an optimist, but he just got both an apology and the stamp of approval from Bruce. Maybe this time, things would only get better from then on.


End file.
